Fire dragons and ice skaters were the order of the day as millions of Chinese continued to celebrate the Lunar New Year across the country on Wednesday.

Fire dragons are normally more than 70 metres long with their body divided into 32 segments. Each one of them would be stuffed with straw and incense sticks.

Dragons are considered extremely auspicious and in ancient times, the symbol was reserved for Chinese emperors.

The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, began on January 23 and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac.

Take a look at the fire dragon dance and other traditional art forms during the Chinese New Year celebrations:

Chinese New Year 2012: Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance amid molten iron at 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 degrees Fahrenheit) during a Spring Festival Temple Fair celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing January 25, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance amid molten iron at 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 degrees Fahrenheit) during a Spring Festival Temple Fair celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing January 25, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance amid molten iron at 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 degrees Fahrenheit) during a Spring Festival Temple Fair celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing January 25, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance amid molten iron at 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 degrees Fahrenheit) during a Spring Festival Temple Fair celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing January 25, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Local residents row dragon boats to celebrate the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at a lake in Suining, Sichuan province January 25, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Performers dressed in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) costumes skate through an archway on a frozen lake during a performance on the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, January 25, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Performers take part in a performance called "Tai Ge" during the second day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at a park in Nanjing, Jiangsu province January 24, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Performers dressed in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) costumes hold dragon flags as they skate on a frozen lake during a performance on the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, January 25, 2012ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Fireworks light up the sky over the Victoria Harbour to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Hong Kong January 24, 2012.ReutersChinese New Year 2012: Fireworks light up the sky over the Victoria Harbour to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Hong Kong January 24, 2012.ReutersChildren in make-up wearing traditional costumes perform during the temple fair at Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, on the third day of the Chinese New Year in Beijing January 25, 2012.Reuters